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'54 Chevy Sedan Delivery-Completed Photos


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. I picked this kit up a few months back and was thinking of doing this one in typical "Gasser" fashion with the nose up in the air............

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but lately I've had something else in mind..............

Different set of wheels and tires and a more wild stance............... icon_hmm.GIF

I think I'm gonna move forward with this one............

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Edited by mustang1989
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Got started on the suspension layout. The OOB frame just aint going to get it as it will leave the vehicle sitting too high.

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So I'll be using the frame and suspension components from this rascal right here to correct that.............

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As it looks right now I'll have to cut the center of the Nova chassis out as noted by the areas shaded in black and then cut the '54 flooring at the demarcation line drawn in white. I'm going to have to lengthen the Nova frame by about a 1/4" in the front and shave off about 1/8" at the rear to make all of this work.

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.I started out with the engine build like I always do on an automotive build. I primed with black on this one and shot the coat of paint like always but this time instead of adding a light wash I shot it with a gloss coat. To compliment the shiny paint job I thought I'd depart from the norm again and dress this one up with some chrome. I'm giving thought to dunking the chrome rocker covers in a dip of future and Tamiya smoke mixed together to give it that extra shine as well as to preserve the chrome. It's a big block and doesn't say which one it is so I'll assume this is a 396.


Here's the mock up:

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.Ok folks. I didn't end up liking the chrome intake and plenum as it was just too much chrome and to me too much chrome just looks cheap. I stripped the chrome from the intake and plenum using Easy Off. You gotta soak this stuff for around 30-45 minutes but it works. Then I washed it in warm soapy water, dried and primed it in black. After that I shot a coat of aluminum on it and after that I applied a light coat of dark wash on it to add a little more convincing finish. Additionally the oil fill cap is supposed to go on the drivers side. Oops! Here's the results:

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There............that's better.

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.

Looking ahead as to what to use for carburetors.....icon_hmm.GIF....

 

Well I can tell you for dang sure that I sure as Hell aint gonna use the OOB carbs that came with the 427. I don't know what these are but they are anything BUT a well represented carb.

 

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I thought about using some Dominator carburetors that came with my Motorcraft Thunderbird but in real life it would be too much for a street engine.....

 

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that leads me to my third option which is probably the best all around from the Revell 1970 Boss 429 kit. I haven't found an OOB Holley 4150 series carburetor that's been more well represented than these in terms of detail and accuracy. I'll be stripping the chrome plating off with Easy Off. Only the AM stuff has them beat but I aint payin' $12 for two carburetors so we'll stick with the OOB offerings from Revell:

 

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This is where I'm at so far on the bottom side. Oil filter was painted and installed yesterday and I just finished up installing the starter today. I've got the fuel pump painted up and the inlet and outlet holes already drilled in it for the fuel lines. And of course ....................the PE oil pan drain plug.

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Edited by mustang1989
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Carbs are one area that Car Model companies have really not done well. I guess they figure that since they are covered up with Air Cleaners/Filters that there is no reason to put a lot of design time into it. This is where the After Market guys can really make a difference. For shelf models and such straight kit Carbs are ok, but if you are doing a Contest Model or will display it without a Air Cleaner then it is worth investing in After Market item. Replica and Miniatures has some great ones. All Carburetor's look better without chrome! Great work so far.

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Dannie: Thanks for the heads up and the kudos bud.

 

Andy: You're right and thank you also for the heads up and the good word.

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.

Ok......I've had a flurry of progress and ideas on this one as of the last few days. First off I moved forward on stripping the carburetors of chrome which I was going to do anyways as chrome on carburetors just don't look right.

Secondly I modified the Nova frame by shortening the frame in the back and shortening the leaf springs. Up front I cut the forward part of the frame completely off and cut out the center section. You can see the differences here........

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After that I cut the front part of the '54 frame off and graphed that in. I still need a couple more bolt heads to complete this and while it's not true to realism on the bottom side, I took all the measurements and it appears that this is going to work out.
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I cut into the forward part of the frame about 3/16" where the front crossmember and front suspension mounts up in order to lower the car in the front 3/16". I'm going to notch out the suspension mounting area to get yet another 1/8" lower This is how the car is going to sit with only the frame notch out. The rear of the rear suspension is exactly where it's supposed to be.

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About this time the ideas started soaring around in my head after I studied the back of the vehicle interior some. I still need to notch out where the wheel tubs are going to fit on the floor here but I've got some decent plans for this. First off here is the rear floor...

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Now I thought to myself, "What can I do back here to make this interesting?" icon_hmm.GIF Soooo. I found a 1/24 scale flat screen TV on ebay

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Well I've gotta have something to sit this on and somewhere to sit so how about using a coffee table and couch from a 1:24 scale dollhouse set? Again..found these on ebay. Hey ......what tha hell ya know?

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Gotta have somewhere to store the cold ones too so I found a 1:24 scale cooler with an opening lid to put those in....

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and speakin' of cold ones.......I found some 1:24 scale cases of those too! A case of these'll go on top of the cooler....probably Bud or Heineken

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I took measurements and plotted everything out on the floor using cut up post it notes to see if everything was gonna fit.....

Looks like it's gonna make it. I may throw another Hot Rod Magazine and scratch build a remote for the TV to put on the edge of the coffee table/ TV stand. Looks like I might need to run an air line and an airbag to the L/H side of the rear suspension to even things out back there for the weight on one side factor. lol

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.

Well I made a little extra progress on the chassis this morning. I got all the rear brake lines and fuel line formed and installed, got the differential and rear springs all painted up and glossed and started fitting the rear shocks. The chassis has been painted all aluminum with a gloss coat over it and the fuel cell and other two boxes in the back have been darkened slightly with a coat of Tamiya Smoke for a bit of contrast. Here's what I've got so far with that:

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I finished up with the rear suspension this morning by painting the shocks , the rear mount points on the springs, painting the spring mount bolts at the axle and adding PE bolt & nut heads to either side of the leaf spring mount eyelets at the spring ends. Shocks and rear axle/ suspension are now part of the chassis. I also added PE bolt heads to the front subframe to main chassis for a bit more realism. I ended up using a spare drill bit for an axle so that everything would tie up nicely between the wheel/ axle fit.

Suspension progress with all shocks, plumbing and PE hardware installed:

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Here's the ride height I was looking for in the original mock up with attention directed towards the rear wheel/ tire in relation to the wheel opening.

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and here is where I'm at right now with the axle installed displaying assembled ride height as it is right now:

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Man those "meats" just look purdy underneath there don't they?

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.

Over the course of the last few days I've been working on wheels and tires and the stance I want out of this thing. First off I got the wheels to fit better in the tires and then scuffed the road surface part of the tire up using a 1/2" socket on a drill. I'll wait on the finishing touches to the sidewalls till later on in the build. Still handling the tires too much right now.

 

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Then I went to work on manufacturing a set of springs for the front. The OOB ones were atrocious !!!

 

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Then I did some more work in the front in regards to wheel to spindle mounting and dropping the front end where I wanted it.

 

Here is the "before" photo showing where the suspension/ stance was......

 

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and here it is with everything is mounted up as it will be with the finished product. Now the stance is dead on with the exact look I was after.sSig_Muahaha_zps56835599.gif

 

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Nice work on the stance. In the first photo, the stance was not appealing to me. I am looking forward to seeing the completed model and I hope I see it in person at some point. I have always loved those sedan deliveries. In fact, I have a couple in my stash.

 

Andy

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  • 1 month later...

Joseph - before you strip off the engine chrome, check this out: This is Tamiya Light Gun Metal sprayed directly on the kit chrome.

To me it gives a fairly nice realism to the chrome parts. What do you think?

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That looks really good Bob! What I ended up doing was stripping the chrome from the carburetors but painted them with a mixture of chrome silver and gold.

I used some throttle linkage from my Model Car Garage linkage PE set for the throttle pivot lever and needles for the fuel inlet lines. I'll end up cutting the pointed portion of the "lines" off and routing fuel lines to them. I've got to finish the distributor and mount it into place with the ignition wires before I start on the rest of the throttle linkage but here's the start of that.

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This is really looking good. I like the final stance too. That idea of using gun metal over kit chrome is a good one. I also have used Tamiya Smoke ( X-19) thinned down a little. Light passes with an air brush just to knock down the Brightness a little. Keep post'in this great work you're doing Stang Man...

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Thanks Gary! Actually I stripped all the chrome from the carbs and painted them with a mix of Chrome Silver and Gold. :smiley2:

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.Just to show that I am still making progress on this bad boy. The wire looms/ retainers were a real PIA only in the fact that the holes were too dang small. I had to drill each hole out to .024" to be able to run the wires through them. The two hole looms were a nightmare to insert the second wire through due to the fact that they flopped all over the place. A friend of mine gave me the trick of leaving them on the PE fret and installing them over the wires that way but during the drilling process they came off of the fret! oh_jeez-1018_zpskf8ctjic.gif



Any ways here the engine is with the wires mostly ran. I've got the spark plug boots slipped onto the wires and painted and all the wire looms in place. Now for final routing and wire insertion into the cylinder heads. I've got the ignition coil all painted up as well and ready to go.



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  • 2 weeks later...

I got the plug wires inserted into the cylinder heads over the period of a couple of days. Part of the problem was the routing but I got it down I think.
I also adhered the manifold to the engine. I ended up using a dab of GM sealer at the ends of the intake manifold just like I do in real life when I install an intake. Who needs those stupid end seals??!! Just install the runner gaskets and run a bead of GMS along the "China Walls" and plop 'er down!!

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Thanks Bob! About the only thing I'll do different next time is round out the bends a little more on the wires. That last one on the drivers side looks a little squared off now that I can see it a little closer in this larger picture.oh_jeez-1018_zpskf8ctjic.gif

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Yeah - I've learned that looking at my work in a photo tells me everything I need to go back and re-do. I'm learning to use that as a tool for a more critical eye.

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